Advisory Board

A dedicated board of trustees supports and advises the institute on strategic issues and decisions for the future. Effective July 1, 2026, we have welcomed four new members to the committee.

Stephanie Busse studied law at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. In 1998 she joined Deutsche Bahn AG, where she worked in real estate management. From 2015 to 2022 she ran the tunnel and earthworks division in the headquarters of DB Netz AG. The research and development topics of these specialist trades also count among the main areas of her activity. Stephanie Busse is currently Head of Facility Management at DB InfraGo AG.

Dr. Lutz Aschke studied physics at Ruhr University Bochum. His research focuses on lasers and EUV lithography. He also received additional training in business administration. Having worked at Schott Lithotec AG and as CTO/Managing Director of LIMO Lissotschenko Mikrooptik GmbH, he joined the TRUMPF Group in 2015. At TRUMPF, he initially served as the Commercial Director of the Laser Technology division and subsequently headed TRUMPF Photonic Components GmbH. In 2021, Aschke became CFO/CIO of Carl Mahr GmbH & Co. KG and was subsequently appointed CEO of the Photonics Systems Group. Since October 2025, he has been the director of laser strategy at Marvel Fusion GmbH. He also works as a Senior Advisor for M&A and start-ups.

Since 2022, Aschke has been president of the European platform Photonics21 and a member of the supervisory boards of TecInvest Holding AG and Light Conversion UAB.

After completing his studies in Industrial Engineering at the University of Greenwich and Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, Sebastian Bannert joined Robert Bosch GmbH in 2008. There, he initially worked for seven years at Bamberg plant and three years at Bursa plant (Turkey) in various positions in manufacturing. In 2018, Bannert joined Feuerbach plant in Stuttgart. There he is responsible for the industrialization of diesel pumps, exhaust gas sensors and fuel cells (PEM), engineering of manufacturing processes and sample shop for new products.

Kirstin Casdorff studied bionics at Bremen University of Applied Sciences and expanded her expertise with a master’s degree in materials science from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel. She then earned her Ph.D. from ETH Zurich, focusing on the topological and mechanical analysis of wood using atomic force microscopy. She has been with Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA since 2018, where she initially took on responsibility as a Technical Project Manager. For the past three years, she has led the Optical and Catalytic Gas Sensors division under a top-sharing model. She is responsible for developing innovative sensors for gas detection and gas measurement devices. In addition, she is involved in the MissionEqual initiative, actively promoting the advancement, networking, and empowerment of women in leadership positions at Dräger.

Mehran Ghahremanpour studied mechanical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at the University of Stuttgart. He then worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and at the Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management IFF in the Industrial Coating Technology working group. He later joined the Department of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Stuttgart as a research assistant. Since 2012, he has been a consultant for the mechanical and electrical engineering industry in the automotive and manufacturing industry and logistics department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg. In addition to industry topics, he is involved in various funding topics, particularly in Industry 4.0, microelectronics and quantum technologies.

After completing his studies in nautics, Jonas worked as a research fellow at the »Ingenieurhochschule für Seefahrt« (school of nautics engineering) in Rostock where he received has doctor’s degree in 1991. He then took up a position of research associate in the Nautics Department of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. From 1994 to 2008 Jonas was head of division »nautics information service« at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie BSH, a higher federal authority under the jurisdication of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure). He was appointed head of the nautics hydrography department at the BSH in 2009, a post that encompassed responsibility for marine survey and mapping of the entire German sea area as well as representation of all federal hydrographical issues in an international context. From 2014 to 2017 Jonas was Vice President of the BSH. In April 2017, he was appointed Secretary General of the Monaco based International Hydrographic Organization IHO where he commenced his duty in September 2017.

Since August 2021, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katharina Klemt-Albert is head of the Institute of Construction Management, Digital Engineering and Robotics in Construction at RWTH Aachen University. For more than five years, she previously headed the Institute for Construction Management and Digital Building at Leibniz Universität Hannover, where she researched and taught on digital transformation and digitization in planning, construction and maintenance. Professor Klemt-Albert studied civil engineering at Ruhr University Bochum. In 2001 she received her doctorate with distinction from the Technical University of Darmstadt in cooperation with Northwestern University/USA. Professor Klemt-Albert spent 14 years in top management at Deutsche Bahn AG, most recently as managing director of an international project service provider with 1,500 employees. Here she implemented major national and international projects with a focus on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore and China. Professor Klemt-Albert is founder and CEO of albert.ing GmbH, a provider of engineering services and consulting for digital construction.

Florian Krogmann studied microsystems engineering at the University of Freiburg, where he earned his doctorate in microoptics. In 2007, he joined Innovative Sensor Technology (IST AG), a company within the Endress+Hauser Group. As Chief R&D Officer, he led the development of physical, chemical, and biological sensors and established new business areas. He also served as a member of the executive board and was responsible for subsidiaries engaged in biochemical sensor technology and molecular diagnosis, driving their technological and strategic development. In 2023, he moved to Endress+Hauser Optical Analysis in the U.S., where he served as Vice President of Technology and led the development of Raman and TDLAS analyzers. Since mid-2026, Krogmann has served as the head of the technology division at Endress+Hauser Level+Pressure. Since 2017, he has volunteered on the board of the Hahn-Schickard Society and the steering committee of the MikroSystemTechnik Congress.

Fabian Lausen studied mathematics in Duisburg (diploma, with a minor in physics) and interdisciplinary science studies (master's degree) in Bielefeld. After completing his doctorate in the philosophy of science and working as a postdoc at Bielefeld University, he joined the Science Council's office as an officer in 2015. His responsibilities there included working groups on regional collaborations in science, on higher education governance, and on the postgraduate phase at colleges of art and music. Since 2021, Fabian Lausen has been working as an adviser at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Department T14, “Quantum Technologies”). Among other things, he is responsible for various topics in photonics funding, the establishment of the Jena based “Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research”, and cross-sectional topics (e.g., Outreach, technology assessment, and start-up funding).

Nora Oberländer studied industrial engineering (mechanical engineering/energy technology) at the Technical University of Berlin, as well as in Sweden and Singapore. After completing her studies, she worked for various startups in the mobility and energy sectors, where she gained extensive experience in innovative corporate environments and the introduction of new technologies into existing markets. Since 2014, Nora Oberländer has been a member of the Advisory Board of the HÜBNER Group and the Hübner and Kennedy Foundation gGmbH, where she has supported the company’s strategic development. In March 2025, she joined HÜBNER Group's Executive Board, where she is responsible for Strategy and Digitalization, and since April 2026, for the Hübner Photonics business unit.

Stefan Raible received his diploma in physics at the University of Tübingen and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1999, working in the field of scanning microscopy, silicon micro-machining and semiconductors. In 2000 he co-founded the company Advanced Sensing Devices, which developed and manufactured chemical MEMS gas sensor elements. After merging with AppliedSensor AB in 2002, Raible established MEMS based metal oxide sensors as the company’s key technology. From 2011 to 2014, he served as CTO, CEO and member of the board of directors. In 2014, AppliedSensor was acquired by the Austrian ams AG. Between 2014 and 2019, Raible held various positions at ams AG and supported the company as engineering fellow to define its technology strategy. Since 2020, Raible has taken over as CTO of the ScioSense B.V., which emerged from ams AG as a joint venture and is based the Netherlands. Since 2018 Stefan Raible is supporting the Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) at the University of Tuebingen as deputy managing director.

A qualified lecturer in physics, he has been working for Carl Zeiss since 2002, where he holds the position of Fellow in the specialist career path. In June 2013 Totzeck was appointed honorary professor by the University of Konstanz. His expertise encompasses optical measurement techniques, high-resolution microscopy, lithography as well as electromagnetic light/structure interactions and polarization optics. He is an author/co-author of more than 50 patent families and more than 30 scientific publications.

Wallrabe studied physics at the Universität Karlsruhe, now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, where she received her doctorate with a thesis on micro-turbines and micro-motors. In 1999, Wallrabe assumed leadership of the micro-optics work group where she developed components for optical communications engineering and sensor technology. Since 2003, Wallrabe is a professor for micro-actuators at the Department of Microsystems Engineering IMTEK at the University of Freiburg. Her research focus is on magnetic micro-structures and adaptive micro-optics. She is a board member of the Fraunhofer IPMS and of the Hahn-Schickard Gesellschaft as well as member of the University of Freiburg’s strategic commission. Since 2020, she has also been a member of the DFG’s (a nationwide Research Funding Association) board of experts in systems engineering.